Controlling inflation is gov’t top priority, rates increase temporary -El Garhy

Controlling inflation is now Egypt’s top priority, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told Bloomberg TV (runtime 03:25). The priority is to bring inflation down into the ‘teens, El Garhy said. Concerns about “reform fatigue” will have no impact on the government’s economic growth target, he says, explaining that “next year’s 4.6% [GDP growth target] is manageable… we’re coming from a period of time where economic activity was very slow … now the economy is kicking back.”

El Garhy also notes that tightening of monetary policy would not have a large impact on growth prospects because it “should be there temporarily” and would come down to a more manageable level. This will not be something we will live with for long, he stressed, saying people looking for long-term investments should not worry about the high interest rates.